


Fallen Legacy

by Madigan_45



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman Zero | Mega Man Zero, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-04-13 19:03:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14118882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madigan_45/pseuds/Madigan_45
Summary: X keeps telling himself that things can’t possibly get any harder. Little does he know…Bonus 1: Dr. Weil gets a serving of poetic karma.





	1. Chapter 1

Throughout his lifetime, X had survived a total of three wars, all instigated by Sigma in hopes of annihilating the human race. There was no doubt in X’s mind that he was _the_ Maverick Hunter with the highest number of enemy casualties at the end of his smoking buster. X hated to fight, but he always told himself that if he didn’t step up and do _everything_ he possibly could, ultimately, he was only dooming a different robot to take his place on the battlefield. A different robot who might not have the freedom of choice like he did. A different robot who might not have the experience and a mind for strategy like he did. A different robot who might be sent out to _die_ because of X’s inaction. _That_ thought was something X hated even more than the fighting, and so he soldiered on, quite literally. X survived reploid assassins built specifically to take him down. X survived a parasitic invasion brought about by the corrupted Dr. Doppler. X survived a lustful, sadistic she-devil of a reploid with delusions of grandeur who tried to make X her _King_ (that, ladies and gentleman, is a story for another day). X survived a military coup attempt on Abel City, almost ending with the Repliforce’s Final Weapon project being fired upon Hunter HQ. X survived the space colony Eurasia nearly crashing into Earth, which would have devastated the planet for humans and reploids alike. X survived a mad scientist using parts of his best friend’s body to create a _Nightmare_ version of Zero—a twisted malformation that infected and doomed every reploid it touched to a slow, agonizing deletion. X even survived nearly one hundred years of being alone after his best friend was sealed away for research.

So, after all that, who could have guessed that the moment to finally break X down would be Zero begging for X to _please let them stay together_?

Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. It wasn’t technically _Zero_ who spoke those words… It was, but it wasn’t. A human girl, just eight years old, born within the walls of Neo Arcadia, she had been the one to perfect the technology of copying a reploid’s personality and memories into another body, essentially creating a perfect reploid clone. Just what everyone needed, right? Ciel was so young, she couldn't possibly understand the horrible ramifications, for both the original _and_ the copy. X knew better, and he quickly prohibited the procedure of copying any reploid into a second body.

Of course, that was _before_ a human named Weil stole his best friend to use as a weapon of mass destruction, damaging Zero’s mind so far beyond repair that he was left as nothing but an insane, roaring husk who craved chaos. X could vividly remember the researchers of Neo Arcadia telling him that Zero was long gone. There was no hope of ever getting him back. There was absolutely no semblance left of the reploid who had once been X’s most trusted friend and partner. Zero was simply now “Omega,” a monster that Weil could use to annihilate X and everything he fought so hard and so long to build and protect… X wasn't strong enough to stop the threat alone, and that was why he finally agreed to let Ciel copy Zero’s mind into an upgraded body designed for him. To his credit, the new Zero acted in exactly the way he was meant to. He remembered X, he remembered their friendship, he remembered their ongoing struggle to maintain peace, and he remembered his fierce loyalty and devotion to X’s ideals. He remembered that he _loved_ X.

The problem was, X swore Omega did too.

Omega (X _hated_ to call him that, but with the new Zero at his side, it would have just complicated things to do otherwise…) supposedly could no longer articulate his thoughts through words anymore, or realistically even form any rational thoughts at all. _Why_ then, during the fight with Omega, had he seemed so confused to witness _Zero_ stepping in front of X with his Beam Saber at the ready? _Why_ did he stare at them with shock, betrayal, and pain in his eyes? _Why_ did he snarl and foam and roar and try _so damn hard_ to rip the two of them apart?

X knew why. Of course he knew. A part of his best friend was still in there, in some shape, in some form… and even knowing that, X continued to fight him. X and Zero together were able to bring Omega down at last. It was the longest, most difficult, most exhausting, most devastating battle of X’s entire life. Omega managed to gasp out one word in a broken voice before his systems shut down.

“ _X_.”

Zero had been elated that the fight was over. X wanted to die.

Being a human, Weil was somehow spared execution for his act of treason against Neo Arcadia (something X never understood or agreed with), instead being banished into the wastelands that his rebellion had created. Omega’s body was too powerful to be destroyed, and so he was sealed within the Forbidden Ark and exiled into the Earth’s orbit. X always assumed watching that spaceship fly away, knowing full well that it contained his best friend inside of it—his best friend who would be thinking over and over _X replaced me_ —would be the hardest thing X ever had to do.

Boy was he wrong.

Zero was so amazed by everyone and everything around him. He couldn’t believe that the Maverick threat was truly over. He couldn’t believe that X had built a utopia where humans and reploids were living together in peace at last. He couldn’t believe that he was alive again, inside a new body, and everything “evil” that had been a part of him was now gone forever, floating above them so far away that it could no longer burden him, give him nightmares, or make him feel like he wasn’t in control of himself.

It could no longer keep him from being with X.

It was just… X had no idea how to explain to Zero that those memories and those feelings weren’t actually his own. Zero only loved X because Omega once loved X, and knowing that was heartbreaking. When Zero embraced him, it felt awkward. When Zero whispered about how much he missed X and how he would never leave X’s side again, it felt dishonest. When Zero said that the two of them finally being together without having to fight anymore made him the happiest reploid alive, it felt entirely _robbed_ from Omega.

It felt wrong. All of it. All of it was wrong. X absolutely _hated_ the farce he was being forced to live, but he didn’t want to hurt Zero. Zero didn’t deserve it. X wanted to be strong and put on a smile for him, but the more time passed, the harder it became to hide his tears.

“X?”

X startled at the voice, the sudden intrusion snapping him away from his thoughts. It was three AM. He’d gotten up out of bed to step outside on the balcony of their bedroom. The view of Neo Arcadia below them was amazing, but X had been looking up at the stars, towards the one thing he wanted but could no longer have. X brought up an arm to wipe his face clean, but he already knew it was pointless. Zero wasn’t stupid. Zero would know he’d been crying again.

Zero stepped forward and placed his hand on X’s arm. “What’s the matter, X? Why did you leave the bed? Are you okay?”

In his new body, Zero was shorter and smaller than X now. Technology had advanced to the point where a reploid could be practically indistinguishable from a human. Of course, X had been offered the same upgrade in order to match the specs of a modern day reploid several times, but he always politely declined it. If Ze— _Omega’s_ body had not been stolen by Weil, he would have woken up in just a few short months, on August 15 th. X had wanted Omega to open his eyes and see the friend he was familiar with, not an entirely new one, although X supposed that was a moot point now. “I’m sorry, Zero. I didn’t realize how long I was out here…” X smiled weakly and gestured to the sky. “The stars are beautiful tonight.”

“I know, X. They’re beautiful every night.” Zero sighed heavily. “It doesn’t mean you can be out here watching them _all the time_ instead of sleeping.”

God. God, it wasn’t Zero’s fault, but it made X feel like absolute scum to climb into bed with him every night.

_I can’t look at you, I can’t lie next to you, not when I’m thinking about HIM—_

“X!”

X’s eyes widened. He had drifted off into his own head again, and fresh tears were spilling down his cheeks. Bless him, Zero looked so worried. He reached out and touched X’s face, brushing the tears away with his thumbs.

“Dammit X, tell me what’s wrong with you! I can’t stand to see you like this! Isn’t this supposed to be our chance to finally be _happy_?” Zero leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. “Tell me what to do. Tell me how to make you better.”

Zero’s words only caused X to cry harder, and Zero pulled away from him, now looking miserable himself. X tried to swallow down his sobs, but he couldn’t. “I-I-I’m so s-sorry Ze-ero…”

Zero stared at his hands. “Is it me?” he whispered. “Do you… not like this new body? I know it’s completely different. I’m still getting used to it myself. I admit, it feels strange to be this size, but I didn’t realize…” Zero bit his bottom lip. “I can ask Ciel to give me a redesign that more closely resembles my original body—”

“NO!” X shouted. It was so loud and so sudden that Zero jumped, and X immediately felt guilty. He reached out and took Zero’s hands into his own. “No, Zero. It’s not that at all. You’re beautiful. Even if you’re a bit shorter now…” That wasn’t a lie. X certainly thought Zero was beautiful, regardless of his new body, regardless of everything. He would always think that. “It doesn’t matter. Once Ciel upgrades my body to match yours, we’ll be the same size anyway.”

Zero huffed, and X thought he could see a blush spreading over his partner’s face. “Well, why haven’t you just let her do it already then, huh?”

“I will,” X promised. “I will soon.” He placed a hand behind Zero’s head, pulling him forward, stroking his hair. “For now I want to enjoy being able to wrap you up in my arms like this.”

_The way he used to do for me._

“X…” Zero’s voice stammered with hot embarrassment, but X felt the smile against his shoulder. “I guess it does feel kind of nice. Like you could protect me from anything.”

In that single moment, X felt the painful spasm of his heart shatter completely. Any tiny part of him that might have been holding on… it was gone now. “Come on, Zero. Let’s go back to bed.”

About an hour later, when X thought Zero was finally asleep again, he tried to quietly get up, only to be stopped by Zero’s fingers curling into the back of his shirt.

“Please don’t leave,” Zero whispered.

“I—I have to go.” X jerked away from Zero’s hand desperately, almost harshly. “There’s so much that needs to be done today. I should get an early start on it all.”

“X…”

“Go back to sleep, Zero. You don’t need to wait up.”

~*~

“I don’t understand…” Zero shook his head in disbelief as the Neo Arcadian researchers gathered around him, or more specifically, around the sealing chamber that Zero was once again inside, waiting patiently to trap him into an endless sleep the way it had done before. “I already did this. My old body and everything that was wrong and corrupted inside of it, everything that was hurting and infecting other reploids… it’s gone! _It’s gone_! We don’t have to do this again!”

X squeezed Zero’s hand, trying to reassure him. “Zero, it…” X swallowed thickly. “It has to be done. Even though you’re in a new body, you’ve always reacted strangely to unknown elements in the past. Omega was being powered by the Dark Elf during the time when we fought him. We don’t know if that power could have affected you too, in some way we’re just not seeing. The problem may be an internal one, hidden inside your programming. This is just to be safe, Zero.”

“X, I feel absolutely fine, please, don’t make me do this again!” Zero begged. “It was hard enough the first time… and I—”

“And you woke up, Zero. You woke up the first time,” X whispered. He leaned down and kissed the gemstone adorning Zero’s helmet. “You’ll wake up again.”

The gesture calmed Zero down, but not by much. “When?” he asked. Zero’s voice sounded weak.

“Soon, I promise it’ll be very soon, Zero. And I’ll be here just like I was before.” X tried to smile, but the tears in his eyes betrayed his words.

“ _No_.” Zero strained to get up from the sealing chamber, but the cables plugged into his back kept him firmly in place. “No, I don’t want to do this again. Please X! Let me get out!”

The sound of computers began to whir around them. The sealing process had begun. Functions would begin to shut down.

“ _X_!!!”

X released Zero’s hand and pulled away from him. The glass lid of the sealing chamber closed shut. Zero’s voice was muffled, but X could still hear every word, even as Zero beat helplessly against the door.

“X, X no, please! Please tell them to stop! I don’t want to be away from you again! Not now! X!!!” Zero’s vision began to blur, but it wasn’t due to his optic centers going offline. He was crying. “ _Please just let me stay with you, X_!!!”

X couldn't watch Zero’s final moments. Zero cried and desperately hit the glass in front of him, but after a few more seconds, it was over. Zero was asleep again. X closed his eyes and covered a hand over his mouth because he thought for sure he was about to be sick.

“Sir…?” one of the researchers ventured cautiously. “There’s no need to test him for any programming abnormalities since he’s just a copy of the original, so—”

“I KNOW THAT!” X roared, slamming his fist down onto the lab table in front of him, sending papers, beakers, test samples, microscopes, among other things, crashing down to the floor below. No one in the room even dared to breathe while X gritted his teeth. “…I know that,” he repeated, more calmly. “Wait a couple months or so, and you can wake him up again. But first, you have to make sure he remembers _nothing_ about me, about the past… anything at all.” X’s shoulders were visibly shaking. “ _Please_. Let him start over with a clean slate. Give him the opportunity to become his own person this time, and not just a copy of Zero. Can you do that for me?”

“Y-yes, sir, although…”

X was already walking away and out of the room. He wasn’t going to stick around and listen to the moral objections.

A couple months would be plenty of time.

~*~

It wasn’t exactly a trait that X was _proud_ of, but it was a very useful one. X was a very good liar and he always had been. With Zero taken care of and his memories being purged, X decided that it was long past time for him to step down and finally allow himself to rest. And the excuse? He believed it necessary to use his body to contain the Dark Elf and make sure it would never harm another reploid again. No one would question it. It was the kind of noble sacrifice everyone would expect X to make for the sake of the greater good. Fefnir, Leviathan, Phantom and Harpuia had all protested on principle, of course. How could Neo Arcadia remain intact without its leader?

“If Neo Arcadia falls simply because I’m no longer here, then what good have I been doing this whole time?” X held out his hands in a display of exhausted resignation. “I don’t want this place to _need me_ in order to survive. I’ve always trusted you four with my life. Now I’m trusting you with my legacy.”

“We can find a different method to imprison the Dark Elf that doesn’t require you to sacrifice yourself!” Harpuia argued, but he already knew that he was fighting a losing battle. X had made up his mind and there was no talking him out of it. They were all gathered at Yggdrasil, the center tower of Neo Arcadia, named so because of the huge tree that weaved its way in circles around the tower. It was a simple yet beautiful thing. It was very much like X to pick such a location to be his final resting place.

X looked up at the branches of the tree, at the leaves, at the streaks of sunlight peeking through and shining down gently on his face. He was under no illusions. X knew that as soon as he stepped inside the sealing chamber, he would never come out of it again. He would either remain there forever or he would die. In his last moments, X thought he might have been crying, at least a little bit, but no. He felt _happy_.

_I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith._

“Fefnir, Leviathan, Phantom, Harpuia… The four of you are still very young, so I want you to live your lives proudly. Always be there for one another. Be firm in your resolve, but generous with your love. If you’re ever afraid, think of me. I’ll be watching over you always, my precious Guardians.”

A short time later, the legendary hero known as Mega Man X was no longer active, resting peacefully inside the blue and golden chamber underneath the shade of Yggdrasil. Minutes passed, which turned into hours. The Four Guardians simply couldn’t bring themselves to abandon their leader’s side. Leviathan began to weep openly.

“What are we going to do without him…?” she whispered.

Harpuia clutched a hand to his chest. His core was beating rapidly. His body felt numb and cold. “I…” Panic tingled through every inch of his circuits. “M-Maybe we should…”

“Harpuia?” Phantom asked quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Harpuia trembled, but he eventually steeled himself, taking in a long, deep breath. “Maybe we should talk to Miss Ciel about going forward with the Seraphim Project.”

Leviathan gasped. “You mean—a copy of… but X wouldn’t have wanted that!”

“Well it’s not like he’s coming back, is he?!” Fefnir snarled. “He didn’t care about what _we_ wanted! The only thing that mattered to him was continuing on with his God damn martyr complex to the very end!”

Each reploid was silent for a long time after that. No one knew what to say anymore. It wasn’t until they had descended Yggdrasil and were back inside the city limits that a voice finally spoke up again.

“Well… it would be a copy of X. He’s always been a hero. He’s always been something special and exceptional. What’s the worst that could happen?”


	2. Bonus 1

His name was Dr. Erik Weil, PhD. He was once a robotics engineer with an emphasis on biochemistry—or “robo”chemistry as some of his colleagues would put it. Weil was unmatched in his field (obviously), but to be perfectly honest, Weil never actually liked robots. Weil liked _building_ robots, sure, but centuries ago, after some idiot named Thomas Light decided that he wanted robots to be more like _humans_ , and pitched his idea to give robots independent thought... well, shocker, it ruined everything for everyone. Soon enough, robots ceased being robots. Eventually they became—ugh— _reploids_ , and once reploids accounted for half of the planet's population (like parasites trying to wipe out the indigenous species, if you asked Weil), personal feelings aside, you had to know a thing or two about them. It was just common sense if you wanted to make the big bucks.

Regrettably, reploids always caused more harm than good, whether you wanted to blame it on a virus or their own bad behavior. As such, Weil had been the one to spearhead the infamous Mother Elf project, a humble little undertaking responsible for the airborne cyber field across the country, which prevented all reploids from being influenced by any outside agencies. Distribution of the Mother Elf brought the Maverick Wars to a swift conclusion in a matter of hours—something the poor, pathetic Maverick Hunters had failed to do after _decades_ of fighting. It would always come down to _human_ ingenuity at the end of the day to make a real difference in the world.

Now, Weil wasn't a man to gloat, but after all of his hard work, bringing peace and prosperity and _blah blah blah_ to mankind, could you really blame him for getting a _tiny_ _bit_ upset when the keys to the kingdom were handed over to _X_ of all people? _X_ , but not to Weil? _X_ , an old, outdated Maverick Hunter, a reploid... A REPLOID! Reploids were the awful _things_ responsible for this entire mess in the first place! And now one was being placed into a position of _power_ , governing over all of _Neo Arcadia_? Simply ludicrous. Reploids deserved to be _punished_ for the carnage they once caused, _not_ rewarded! Reploids deserved to be under the thumb of humans—screw that pesky _free will_ of theirs! All of it could be easily achieved through utilization of the Mother Elf. With just a few minor tweaks, reploids could be “persuaded” to follow under one supreme command: _Weil's_ command. There would never be any threat of “Maverick” dissension ever again. It was the perfect solution! X, no surprise, shot the proposal down flat, just as Weil knew he would. Weil saw that one coming a mile away.

X murdered Weil a few years later. Weil certainly didn't see _that one_ coming.

So you're probably thinking _WHAT?! X, the sweetest, most sensitive reploid alive, the most famous Maverick Hunter of all time, the leader of Neo Arcadia, murdering a HUMAN?! That can't be right!_ Oh, but Weil would assure you, _it happened_. X _did_ murder him. X even kept Weil alive for _weeks_ on end before doing so, simply to inflict more pain. X wasn't the most creative reploid when it came to, ahem, _torture_ , but his methods were very efficient. Very brutal. One time X decided that Weil had looked at him in a way X didn't like, so X reached his fingers into Weil's eye socket— _fist gauntlet intact_ —and dug out the offending organ, along with a sizable glob of Weil's surrounding face. Despite the drugs and all manner of life support X used to keep Weil's broken body stable, death was inevitable once X's titanium hands tore through Weil's skin and bone like tissue paper, squeezing around anything squishy and vulnerable underneath, ripping it out, throwing piece after bloody piece across the room.

Weil died instantly once X's fingers pushed into his heart, bursting the arteries. It was finally over.

 _Or so Weil thought_.

Weil had never believed in any kind of life after death, yet even so, consciousness and even _awareness_ undeniably returned to him. Very odd. Weil was sure he'd experienced a total brain death, yet here he was, feeling the neurological impulses in response to external stimuli: discomfort from a hard metal table, irritation from the bright lights, disorientation accompanied by white dots behind his closed eyelids, anxiety at the sound of something sharp _scraping_ along behind him...

“Welcome back, doctor.”

X's voice again, huh? Surely Weil wasn't unlucky enough to be stuck with him even in hell, right?

“You're probably very confused... Hold on a minute. I'll show you everything that's happened.”

Weil wanted to sneer back at X that he wasn't interested in whatever self-righteous bullshit the blue robot was trying to preach, but alas, the only sound Weil could form was a gurgling hiss. Right, right. X had removed Weil's tongue with a pair of pliers a while back, for speaking _that_ name _._ X sure got upset at any mention of his rather unfortunate partner. Heh.

Weil supposed he had that one coming though. A note: not a smart idea to taunt the maniac holding you hostage over his dead ex-boyfriend. Hm, come to think of it, _was_ Omega actually dead? Weil wasn't sure X really had the balls to kill his main squeeze, but then again, X was surprising Weil a lot lately. So it was _technically true_ that Weil had kidnapped and performed unethical body and mind modifications on an unwilling Omega, twisting him into a bloodthirsty reploid messiah, eventually unleashing him upon X and his precious little city, resulting in a _ton_ of casualties, but surely that didn't justify X _murdering_ Weil in retaliation, right?

The medical table Weil was strapped against lurched forward into a vertical position. X stood in front of Weil, displaying a digital reflection screen so that he could see...

 _Oh God_.

Aside from his head, floating pitifully in a tube of orange H2OGfat liquid, there was absolutely nothing _organic_ left of Weil's body! Everything was _gone_ , shoddily replaced with mismatched reploid parts that X probably dug out from the scrapyard. Weil's new limbs looked about as brittle and frail as dead tree branches. By all intents and purposes, X had successfully transformed Weil into that which he hated: a _robot_. A horrifying and grotesque looking robot at that.

_Touché , X, touché._

Before Weil was given much time to contemplate over his new... condition... X kicked out the support beam holding the medical table upright, causing Weil to crash back down none too gently into his original position. Wonderful. What more could X do to him now?

“I know that I hurt you a lot when you were still a human. Or at least, still in a human's body. I'm not sure any decent human could have ever done what you did.” X touched the front of Weil's cracked chest plate. “But truth be told, I'm _much_ more experienced when it comes to hurting other _robots_.” X's fingers slowly moved down, resting on Weil's knee.

__Click_... _click_... _CLICK_... _

“Hear that? It sounds pretty similar to when I broke your bones. You may have mechanical parts now, but it's all generally the same concept.” X bent Weil's knee backwards, shattering the joint, and the _pain_ was beyond comprehension. Fire and brimstone _burned_ in the pits of Weil's carved out stomach. “I probably don't need to tell you this, but I cranked your pain receptors up to max. I'm not supposed to do that, but... you won't tell on me, right?” X mockingly put a finger to his lips.

Weil would kill him. _Kill him_. Weil swore that he would KILL HIM—

X leaned over his captive. His face held a crooked, broken smile, and green eyes which had lost all the light to them, yet still brimmed with tears. A single droplet fell from X's cheek and splattered against the surface of Weil's head capsule. “Don't be afraid, doctor. This won't be the first time you've died, after all.”


End file.
